Ethereum R1 is a new donation-funded, tokenless Layer 2 rollup designed to offer a decentralized, censorship-resistant, and governance-minimized scaling solution for Ethereum

The S&P 500 rose 0.63% Thursday, boosted by strong Meta and Microsoft earnings, but futures slipped Friday as investors awaited the April jobs report and weighed Apple and Amazon tariff concerns. Gold fell to $3,235 as easing trade tensions cut safe-haven demand; markets await US jobs data for rate cut signals. The Coindesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, rose 2.19%, with Bitcoin and Ether up 2.57% and 2.60%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is AR, which gained 16.8% following CloneX's successful migration to Arweave, sponsored by ArDrive.

Arweave (AR), founded in 2017, is a decentralized network for permanent data storage, using blockweave and Proof of Access to ensure long-term accessibility. It offers 200-year storage for a one-time fee, incentivized by AR tokens for miners. The system connects blocks efficiently to preserve and retrieve data, aiming to create a lasting digital knowledge repository. CloneX has successfully 

 to Arweave for permanent storage, with the support of ArDrive, which sponsored the migration of 100 GB of data. The process is nearly complete, with only Animus remaining to undergo decentralization.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

 is a new donation-funded, tokenless Layer 2 rollup designed to offer a decentralized, censorship-resistant, and governance-minimized scaling solution for Ethereum. Built on open-source code and the Nethermind Surge stack, it emphasizes credible neutrality, public good funding (with all fees burned after 2030), and infrastructure that remains free from VC control or centralized dependencies.

Yesterday, BTC spot ETFs saw $71.1M in total inflows, with $16M from GBTC and $55.1M from other ETFs.

 $BOOP tokens to active Solana memecoin traders and creators who promote memecoins or Solana dapps on X. To claim, users must connect their Solana wallet or X account and launch a free token. The airdrop arrives in 30 days, but growing the token’s market cap can accelerate the reward.

Beginner

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Ethereum R1 offers a decentralized rollup solution for Ethereum

This article dives into Bitcoin liquid staking protocol Lombard Finance, how LBTC works and how you can stake LBTC through Bybit Web3.

Bitcoin stands as the undisputed giant of the cryptocurrency space, commanding the largest market capitalization. Yet, much of its potential remains untapped, often sitting idle as a store of value rather than actively participating in the thriving 

 ecosystem. Lombard Finance aims to change this narrative by unlocking Bitcoin's utility and integrating it seamlessly into DeFi.

Lombard is built upon Babylon, the innovative Bitcoin staking protocol, and is incubated by Polychain Capital. Lombard’s flagship product, 

 (LST) for BTC. This article explores what Lombard Finance is and how LBTC works, and describes the Lombard ecosystem and how you can stake LBTC through Bybit Web3.

 is a liquid staking protocol that focuses on transforming 

's role in the digital economy. Its core mission is to evolve BTC from simply being a store of value — also viewed as 

 — into a productive asset that actively generates yield and participates within DeFi. Currently, a significant portion of Bitcoin's

 sits idle, lacking the native staking capabilities or cross-chain composability seen with assets such as 

Lombard Finance addresses this shortcoming by building on top of 

, a protocol that supports BTC staking without needing 

 or custodians. Babylon allows Bitcoin's economic weight to secure other 

 (PoS) chains and applications, creating a new yield source for holders. Lombard leverages this foundation to offer LBTC, making staked BTC liquid and usable across the DeFi market.

Lombard’s goal is ambitious: to channel Bitcoin's vast liquidity into DeFi. This could potentially double the ecosystem's 

 (TVL) if even a fraction of available BTC is introduced. Lombard believes this integration will catalyze significant growth and create more sustainable market dynamics by making BTC a core, yield-bearing primitive within DeFi.

Founders and investors of Lombard Finance

Lombard Finance was founded in April 2024 by a team with deep expertise within DeFi, drawing talent from established crypto projects like Polychain, Babylon, Argent, Coinbase and Maple. This collective experience underpins the protocol's design and strategic direction.

The project was notably incubated by Polychain Capital, a prominent crypto investment firm that also led Lombard's $16 million seed funding round (which was 

 in July 2024). This round saw participation from a wide array of significant players in the crypto space — including Babylon, dao5, Franklin Templeton, Foresight Ventures, HTX Ventures, Mirana Ventures, Mantle EcoFund, Nomad Capital, OKX Ventures and Robot Ventures — thus highlighting broad industry confidence in Lombard's vision. Strategic partnerships and contributions from exchanges like

 and Bitget are further bolstering its distribution and liquidity aggregation efforts.

LBTC is Lombard Finance's flagship product — a liquid staking token (LST) that represents Bitcoin staked through the Babylon protocol. Designed as a universal liquid BTC standard, LBTC is fully backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin, ensuring its value is directly tied to the underlying asset.

The token is yield-bearing, capturing rewards generated from securing PoS networks via Babylon staking. Crucially, LBTC remains liquid, meaning holders can freely use it across various DeFi applications — such as 

 and automated vaults — without sacrificing their underlying staked positions or associated yield.

LBTC is also designed for cross-chain compatibility, natively minted on supported blockchains like Ethereum, Base and Sui and using secure infrastructure [such as 

]. This avoids the risks associated with traditional bridging or wrapping methods, thus aiming to provide a more secure and seamless way to utilize Bitcoin across the multichain DeFi ecosystem.

Lombard Finance simplifies the process of putting Bitcoin to work within DeFi through its LBTC token. The mechanism is designed with security and user experience in mind, leveraging the Babylon protocol and a robust Security Consortium.

The core benefit of LBTC lies in its ability to unlock multiple layers of value simultaneously. Holders earn native yield from Babylon staking, potentially accrue additional rewards (such as Lombard Lux points) and gain access to diverse DeFi yield opportunities, all while maintaining the liquidity of their Bitcoin position. This transforms BTC from a static asset into a dynamic, yield-generating component of the DeFi ecosystem.

Lombard Finance is actively building a wide LBTC ecosystem that already boasts over 75 DeFi integrations. Security is foundational, anchored by the 14-member Security Consortium (including prominent names like Galaxy and OKX Ventures) and validating all critical operations alongside audits and bug bounties.

Core infrastructure relies both on Babylon for staking, and on the Chainlink CCIP for secure cross-chain movement, with EigenLayer integration 

. LBTC integrates with leading DeFi applications across lending platforms (e.g., 

) and automated vaults. The platform supports multiple blockchains (including Ethereum, Base, Sui, BNB Chain) and 

 (L2s), positioning LBTC as a versatile cross-chain asset.

Here's how you can stake BTC on Lombard and use LBTC in DeFi and automated vaults.

Lombard Finance (via its LBTC token) offers a compelling way for Bitcoin holders to put their assets into use, earn yield via Babylon staking and gain exposure to the expansive DeFi ecosystem — all while maintaining liquidity. Incubated by Polychain Capital and supported by a robust consortium and growing partner network, Lombard is positioning LBTC as a secure and versatile liquid Bitcoin standard.

It’s easy to participate in the Lombard ecosystem through 

, you can utilize your Bybit Web3 Seed Phrase Wallet to stake BTC and mint 

, Lombard's vault token that represents deposits in automated yield strategies. This provides you with a seamless gateway to access Bitcoin liquid staking and DeFi yields.

Ready to unlock your Bitcoin's potential? 

Intermediate

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Lombard Finance: Polychain-backed Bitcoin liquid staking protocol

The cryptocurrency market has entered a phase reminiscent of past altcoin seasons, primarily driven by Bitcoin's recent rebound to the $94K–$96K range. 

Altcoin season might have come with reviveding speculation 

The cryptocurrency market has entered a phase reminiscent of past altcoin seasons, primarily driven by Bitcoin's recent rebound to the $94K–$96K range. This resurgence has sparked renewed interest among retail traders, shifting focus from Bitcoin to smaller, more speculative altcoins. The overall market saw a 10% increase in value during the final eight days of April, contrasting with Bitcoin's 7% gain. This trend indicates a growing appetite for risk among investors, particularly in meme coins, which have seen a surge in social media discussions.

However, caution is warranted as elevated crowd enthusiasm often precedes market corrections. Historical patterns suggest that when buzzwords like "altseason" are dominating discussions, it may signal an impending price exhaustion. The current market dynamics reflect a shift toward speculative investments, raising concerns about the sustainability of this enthusiasm.

Bitcoin's bullish sentiment substantially improves

Bitcoin's position as the leading cryptocurrency has remained steady, with discussions around its price fluctuating significantly. Following a period of pessimism, when predictions dipped as low as $10K–$69K, sentiment shifted dramatically with the price recovery. Now, optimistic projections of $100K–$159K are dominating conversations, indicating a reversal in trader sentiment.

Despite Bitcoin's consistent presence in market discussions (approximately 25% of asset topics), the ratio of bullish-to-bearish commentary has grown increasingly favorable. This suggests a growing confidence among traders bolstered by Bitcoin's recent performance. However, it’s essential to monitor whether this bullish sentiment translates into sustained investment, or if it leads to overconfidence that may trigger a market pullback.

Ethere, once a robust contender in the altcoin arena, has struggled to regain retail investor confidence despite recent bullish commentary and promises of innovation from co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Its social media presence has dwindled to about 6–7% of discussions, a significant drop from previous years. This decline highlights the challenges Ethereum faces in re-establishing itself as a go-to investment in a market increasingly dominated by speculative assets.

Conversely, XRP has seen a notable increase in optimism surrounding ETF approvals, with expectations rising to 85%. This shift reflects a broader trend of institutional interest in cryptocurrencies, potentially paving the way for significant capital inflows. Meanwhile, Dogecoin's potential ETF listings have sparked renewed interest, transforming its image from that of a meme coin to a legitimate investment option. The growing dialogue surrounding institutional adoption of Dogecoin and XRP indicates a pivotal moment for these assets, suggesting they may play critical roles in the evolving cryptocurrency landscape.

Advanced

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Bybit x Santiment social sentiment report: Altcoin sentiment recovers despite Bitcoin’s resilience

Bybit Spread Trading allows traders to simultaneously buy and sell two related instruments in order to hedge risk or profit from price discrepancies. Read more.

Whether markets are flying high or wobbling unpredictably, one thing remains true: traders are always looking for smarter ways to 

 and find profit opportunities. That’s where Bybit Spread Trading comes in. This feature is tailor-made for those who want to go beyond basic buy/sell plays and start taking advantage of price discrepancies between related instruments. In this guide, we’ll walk through exactly how Bybit Spread Trading works, why it matters and how you can start using it today, whether you’re 

is a newly launched Bybit feature that allows users to simultaneously buy and sell two related instruments — such as Spot, Perpetual or Expiry contracts with different settlement dates — in order to hedge risk or profit from price discrepancies.

This type of trading strategy is popular among institutional and professional traders because it enables more precise, controlled market exposure. However, with Bybit’s interface, the barrier to entry is significantly lowered, opening the door for individual traders to tap with just a few clicks into a powerful set of tools.

At its core, Spread Trading on Bybit is about executing what’s called a combo trade. This means entering two positions at once: one long, one short. These positions are taken on related instruments, such as a BTC Spot trade and a BTC Perpetual contract, with the idea that their prices will either converge or diverge in a way that benefits your position.

When you place a buy combo, you’re buying the instrument with the longer expiration (the “far leg”) and selling the one that expires sooner (the “near leg”). 

A sell combo is the reverse: selling the far leg and buying the near leg. The profit (or loss) comes from how the spread between these two instruments shifts over time.

For example, if you believe the spread between a Perpetual and a Quarterly Futures contract will widen, you can buy the combo. If the spread increases after your entry, that movement becomes your profit. Bybit calculates your 

 prices automatically, based on the mark prices and your defined “order price,” so there’s no need to manually crunch the numbers.

Perhaps the most important feature here is atomic execution. This ensures both sides of your combo trade are filled together, in equal quantities, or the trade doesn’t go through at all. It removes “leg risk,” which is the danger of getting filled on one side of the trade, but not the other. In volatile markets, that alone can save you from an unwanted mess.

Spread Trading on Bybit currently supports combinations such as Spot and Perpetual, Spot and Expiry, Perpetual and Expiry, or even two Expiry contracts with different dates. This flexibility lets you build strategies that align with different market outlooks — bullish, bearish or neutral.

There’s a strong reason why Spread Trading is a go-to for many experienced traders: it allows for strategic plays that are more sophisticated than just guessing price direction. On Bybit, it’s not only powerful, but also convenient.

First, you get price certainty. Your spread is locked in at the price you specify. There’s no 

 between legs because the entry prices are automatically calculated and matched. You’re trading the spread, not the individual legs.

Secondly, the trading experience is smoother. Instead of placing two separate orders and manually trying to sync them, Bybit handles everything as a single transaction. You don’t have to worry about whether one leg gets filled and the other doesn’t — that risk is eliminated through atomic execution.

Third, this setup is a great hedge against volatility. By taking opposing positions on two related contracts, you reduce exposure to sharp price movements. Your P&L becomes more about the relative performance between contracts, rather than the market direction itself.

There’s also a strong cost advantage. Trading spreads on Bybit is significantly cheaper than doing it manually. You pay only half the trading fees you’d incur if you placed two individual trades on the order book. For high-volume or 

, that translates to meaningful savings over time.

Finally, it unlocks strategy flexibility. Whether you're 

 funding rates between Spot and Perpetual, doing 

 with different Futures contracts or taking advantage of price convergence before expiry, this platform gives you the tools to execute those ideas efficiently.

How to get started with Bybit Spread Trading 

Now that you have a better understanding of how Bybit Spread Trading works, let’s look into how to get started. Please note that you’ll need to have a Bybit account in order to proceed. If you don’t already have one, please check out our 

 for more information on how to create a Bybit account.

: Log in to your Bybit account and hover your cursor over the 

: The available spreads are organized in a grid, with each tile representing a unique combo. Choose your preferred combo to trade.

Tiles with a border around them signify that Spread Trading offers a better price. Hover over a tile for more details, or use the bar at the bottom of the grid to explore more options.

On the order placement page, set up your order with the following parameters:

to place your order. A pop-up window will appear for you to confirm your order details. Then, click on 

Congratulations — you’ve successfully placed an order!

You can view your Spread Trading orders from any trading page (Spread Trading, Spot and Futures), as they all share the same order data.

 to view your active orders. You’ll be able to view the combo, underlying asset, order price and more. 

If you would like to adjust your order parameters, you may click on the pencil icon under 

. To cancel your order, simply click on the order’s corresponding 

to view your completed orders. To view each order’s information on each leg, click on the order’s corresponding 

button. For additional insights, click on 

Spread trading isn’t for everyone — but if you’re someone who enjoys strategic trading, hedging or arbitrage, it’s a tool worth adding to your arsenal. It appeals to traders who are less interested in taking a directional bet, and more focused on capitalizing on inefficiencies in the market.

You don’t have to be a pro trader to benefit, either. The simplified execution and intuitive UI mean even intermediate users can explore advanced strategies without being overwhelmed. As long as you understand how spreads work, and how your P&L is affected by their movement, you’re already halfway there.

More importantly, in times of market uncertainty or low volatility — when price action feels sluggish — spread trading gives you an alternative way to profit. It keeps you in the game — even when momentum plays aren’t cutting it.

Bybit Spread Trading is a powerful tool that combines simplicity with sophistication. Whether you're looking to hedge, save on fees or experiment with 

 strategies, it offers a clean and user-friendly way to do so. With lower risk, lower costs and plenty of flexibility, Bybit Spread Trading is a smart move for any trader looking to level up their game — especially when markets get messy.

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Bybit Spread Trading: Smart strategies for market swings

Bybit Learn

Strategies

Event-driven trading is a strategy that seeks to exploit pricing inefficiencies, which may occur before or after a key event. Learn more here.

Event-driven trading strategies have long been employed by private equity traders and hedge funds as they conduct in-depth research on upcoming corporate events, calculating the rate of success and whether the payoff is worth undertaking the risk. From mergers and earnings announcements to share offerings and executive resignations, such instances often cause huge volatility as short-term traders buy and sell according to existing sentiment. 

In the case of cryptocurrencies, while the general strategy remains the same, traders instead pay attention to key crypto-related events like blockchain upgrades, strategic partnerships and regulatory changes. Read on to find out how this event-driven trading strategy plays out in an actual scenario.

Event-driven trading is a strategy that seeks to exploit pricing inefficiencies, which may occur before or after a key event. In the context of crypto, these events include blockchain upgrades, mergers, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, central bank data announcements and regulation changes.

There are generally two types of events that event-driven trading strategies target: pre-event and post-event. Trading the pre-event hype involves planning, so traders can take advantage of the upcoming volatility that they know usually accompanies such a key event. Post-event trading involves careful analysis of existing demand and supply zones so traders can leverage upon increased trading volume caused by fear-of-missing-out (

Event-driven trading involves several steps. First, traders identify upcoming events that have the potential to greatly impact an underlying crypto's price. Examples range from the 

 to regulators potentially stepping in to start a 

Once the event is identified, traders then analyze how the market will react to the news, and whether there's any validity to the sudden volatility. This involves comprehensive research to ensure all scenarios and potential happenings are taken into account before deciding whether or not the traders want to take a position in anticipation of the event. 

If so, they then decide what type of order to place — either a buy or sell limit order — at which point they can set up their trade. For more advanced crypto traders who have experience in 

 can be deployed, with crypto options in particular being especially handy since the increased volatility will bump up the implied volatility of the option. This will ultimately make writing the option contract that much more profitable.

One key strategy is to be disciplined with existing capital, and to understand the potential risks involved when it comes to the event’s impact. Take-profit levels should be placed, so traders can lock in their profits despite ongoing volatility. If the market moves unexpectedly, planned stop-loss orders should be executed to protect trading capital, and to keep account balances from being wiped out with a single trade.

Event-Driven Trading Example: Ethereum Merge

Hyped up as the biggest crypto event of 2022, the crypto space was filled with buzz for the 

 prior to its completion in September 2022. As a result, speculation was at all-time highs as event-driven traders began to theorize and plan for the upcoming volatility. 

From optimists expecting FOMO buyers to cause ETH prices to skyrocket, to bearish traders asserting that the Merge could be potentially delayed, there were various schools of thought when it came to the notion of profiting from the Ethereum Merge. 

After it officially took place, ETH prices tumbled by close to 4% that day, as traders were quick to buy the rumor and sell the news. Like most telegraphed events and catalysts, the Merge was already priced into Ethereum’s fundamentals, and failed to cause a larger move than expected. This ultimately allowed both bearish ETH traders and those who wrote ETH contracts to profit from the volatility.

Event-driven trading does offer several benefits, particularly when it comes to crypto. Here are a couple to take note of.

Planning for Events Encourages Increased Risk Management

If you don’t plan to succeed, you’re planning to fail. This well-known adage holds extra weight when trading and speculating on the impact of upcoming events and catalysts. Cyclical events, like earnings calls and U.S. Federal Reserve meetings, can often be backtested to gauge their impact on specific assets. Traders can then gauge a rough understanding of the assets’ price movements. As traders plan ahead, they’ll be more aware of 

 before diving into a trade, which can contribute to their overall 

 as they decide when to take profit or cut losses.

Event-driven trading also gives traders a way to earn potential profits without having to continuously monitor the market or day trade. By conducting personal due diligence on upcoming catalysts, and planning for trades, limit orders can be set up before an event occurs. This allows traders to stay on top of markets without being glued to their charts all day long, and can prove beneficial for those who don't have the time to 

While event-driven trading can be a lucrative strategy when done properly, it carries certain dangers that traders should be aware of before diving in.

One of the central risks is that events may not unfold as expected, or may even result in a big price movement that could lead to losses for traders who dabble in crypto options and are expecting a huge move in either direction. As an example, we’ll use the case of traders purchasing option contracts ahead of a hotly anticipated blockchain upgrade. If the market fails to react with as much volatility as expected, those trades may end up being unprofitable as implied volatility falls, immediately crushing the premiums of the purchased option contracts.

Another risk is that event-driven traders can be susceptible to manipulation. Since traders are reacting to news and events, they may be exploited by market makers or large institutions that have the capital advantage over retail investors. Such 

 can easily change market sentiment with their large-volume buys and sells. This may result in greater-than-expected losses if traders are caught on the opposite end of their trades. Therefore, it’s key for traders to take these potential risks into account, respond quickly enough to cut their losses and protect their existing capital where possible.

Tips on How to Profit From Major Crypto Events

When it comes to successful event-driven trading, there are several important tips for all traders to take into account.

Not Getting the Short End of the Bid-Ask Spread

Inexperienced traders may fall prey to emotional trading when trying to get their entry or exit orders filled. This can result in the immediate use of market orders. While this gets the job done, it can result in a bad average entry or exit price when the 

 is too wide. Thus, we recommend using predefined limit orders to take advantage of price movements, without having to constantly check the markets. This provides more flexibility and control over trades, letting you capture quick profits while avoiding large losses in case of an unexpected market move.

The central tenet of due diligence cannot be overstated. For event-driven trading, traders must be aware of the impact of an event and how it can impact the fundamentals of a specific coin or token. That’s why it’s key to 

 and stay up-to-date on all news and events related to a project. Knowing what upcoming events may cause a price movement or have an impact on market sentiment can be immensely beneficial when formulating an event-driven strategy. To form the basis of your due diligence process, we recommend following relevant 

As with all forms of active trading, risk management is key for successful event-driven trading. It allows traders to protect their investments, especially if events don’t unfold as anticipated. Manage the risk of your entries and exits by setting reasonable stop losses in case things don’t go according to plan. It’s also important to make use of 

, which involves limiting the size of each trade per your overall risk appetite and capital allocation.

Whether you’re a beginning or experienced trader, event-driven trading can definitely be a useful strategy if you want to take a more active role when speculating. By taking advantage of price movements that result from key events related to a specific coin or token, well-informed traders can stay ahead of the curve and make use of the ensuing volatility to profit. 

While there are certain risks that come with this type of trading, it allows those actively involved in the market to plan ahead, and avoid making trades based on their emotions. As previously mentioned, doing your research enables you to manage risk within your means. In addition, using limit orders instead of market orders can help you make use of event-driven strategies to potentially snap up quick profits while limiting losses in case things don’t go as expected.

In conclusion, event-driven trading can be a lucrative strategy for those who have done their research and are prepared to respond quickly to the markets when news and events take place. With proper risk management and execution, it’s possible to generate consistent returns from event-driven trading. However, there are also risks involved with event-driven trading, so traders must remain vigilant about potential pitfalls that may arise when things don’t go according to plan, and stay calm in order to keep trading losses to a minimum when using this strategy.

Event-Driven Trading: Profiting Off Major Crypto Events

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